Waipukurau water scare: Central Hawke’s Bay wakes to reservoir emergency

Council contractors at the site of Wednesday’s major water leak on Pōrangahau Rd, Waipukurau.

Waipukurau residents woke to loudspeakers in the streets on Wednesday morning as emergency services spread the message of immediate water restrictions.

Central Hawke’s Bay District Council imposed urgent Level 4 restrictions after discovering the Pukeora Reservoir had dropped to a critical level.

A spokesperson confirmed council was alerted at 6.30am by its Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition (SCADA) system that records reservoir levels across the district.

“The volume of water loss was so extreme that it exceeded the maximum flow rates of the meters at the reservoir,” the spokesperson said.

“One of the challenges of this morning’s event is that we didn’t know where the break was.”

Via Facebook, the council asked residents to conserve water “or there is a real risk Waipukurau could run out of water. The reservoir is currently at 40 per cent and all pumps are running”.

Council confirmed in a later statement that Level 4 water restrictions were expected to remain in place for the population of about 4000 residents until further notice.

Staff, contractors and the community were able to identify the leak and isolate it at about 7am, but by 7.45am reservoir levels were at 26 per cent, with the town approaching its peak water-use period. Water was being produced at 60 litres a second but the usage was up to 230 litres a second.

“The major mains break on Pōrangahau Road caused the Pukeora Reservoir, which provides drinking water to Waipukurau residents, to reach critically low levels of only 25 per cent of its normal capacity early this morning. At any given time the reservoir is normally 70-90 per cent full.

“Waipukurau residents are advised that there will be enough water for everyone, as long as residents continue to conserve water.”

Fire and Emergency New Zealand was called in to help spread the water emergency message throughout the town, while the leak was identified and isolated.

Doug Tate, council chief executive, said the reservoir had risen back to 35 per cent, or about halfway to where it needed to be, as at 11am thanks to the conservation efforts of the community.

The Waipukurau Second Supply project, begun in 2019, will add resilience to the water network in Waipukurau. The council said that plan, along with other key water and wastewater projects, had faced delays due to affordability constraints and uncertainty around Three Waters reform timing.

The challenges were exacerbated for Central Hawke’s Bay following the millions of dollars in damage caused by Cyclone Gabrielle.

Mayor Alex Walker said the emergency highlighted why investment across Three Waters assets was so critical, but a small community like Central Hawke’s Bay could not afford to deliver the level of investment required alone.

“The Hawke’s Bay waters model, supported by central Government, is critical for us. We have to continue to work together with pace to make the investment in our assets as it is desperately needed,” Walker said.

The mains on Pōrangahau Rd are used for firefighting purposes only.

“There are no residents connected to the broken main, with council replacing this main for residents in 2023 as part of its proactive water renewals programme through #thebigwaterstory,” the council statement said.

“A final cross connection which will allow the old main to be decommissioned is planned for late 2024. This crossover will require a major water shutdown for residents of Waipukurau.”

As of 6pm last night the Level 4 restrictions were still in place.

Residents are being asked to use water for emergency purposes only, conserve water where possible, not use washing machines or dishwashers, delay flushing toilets and limit showers to two minutes.